Making The Case For Jim Leavitt

Image via azcentral.com

A couple weeks back I put out the following tweet:

Jim Leavitt is a guy most of you are familiar. After talk of coaching changes at OU became a reality, I started reading more about him back in December. I also began talking to people who know Leavitt, including coaches in the Tampa area and a former defensive back who played for Leavitt at the University of South Florida.

Everything I’ve known or come to learn about Leavitt has convinced me OU should very seriously consider adding him to this coaching staff.

A History of Success

Everywhere coach Leavitt has been, he’s been successful. He was the co-defensive coordinator with Bob Stoops at Kansas State, where they managed to take a pitiful defense and turn it into, statistically, one of the nation’s best. He then went on to the University of South Florida and built the program from it’s infancy as an FCS program to a Big East conference FBS program. The success he had at South Florida, including at one point being ranked number two nationally, has not been anywhere close to repeated since his departure.

Leavitt was offered the Alabama job multiple times before Nick Saban eventually landed in Tuscaloosa. He was offered head coaching positions at multiple major FBS programs and turned them all down to stay at South Florida.

Due to an alleged incident with a player, Leavitt was ultimately dismissed as the head coach at USF. I know for many they will say that this incident alone should preclude him from consideration by OU. And I can’t say they are necessarily wrong. What I will say is this, I don’t personally know what happened.

In talking to a former player, he personally contested what Leavitt was accused of doing. That doesn’t make me any less or sure about what happened. I’m simply taking the position that, I don’t know what went down and whatever did or didn’t happen doesn’t discount how loved Leavitt has been by his players everywhere he’s been. I also take into account the fact it’s been five years now, and he’s since held a major coaching position in the NFL under an excellent coach in Jim Harbaugh.

After his success at Kansas State and then at South Florida, as mentioned above, coach Leavitt was hired by Harbaugh as the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. I’ll admit, I’m not an avid NFL watcher but I know enough to know that San Francisco had some pretty darn good linebackers.

To sum this up, the man has been successful everywhere he has been and I see no reason why that would cease to continue at Oklahoma. He’s proven himself time and time again in various positions and at multiple levels of competition. I have little doubt he’d bring the old OU defensive tradition back to Norman in a hurry. The man just doesn’t fail and that is perhaps the best argument anyone can make in his favor.

A Player’s Coach

As I mentioned, I spoke to one of Leavitt’s former players who played defensive back at USF. I wanted to get a first hand account of what Leavitt was like as a head coach. As I share some of what the player told me, I want you to again bear in mind that Leavitt was obviously the HC. So the fact he had such a strong relationship with so many of his players says a lot about how engaged he was as a coach (imagine how much more individual attention he could give as a DC or position coach).

Before I share one of his former player’s thoughts, I want to share a quote from NaVorro Bowman, who played for Leavitt at San Francisco. He was asked how he liked coach Leavitt:

I love Jim Leavitt. He reminds me of my high school coach in a way. He never lets you have a day off. Even if you aren’t feeling good, he finds a way to make you smile…What he didn’t know what that I was a fan of him, too. He was at USF, and he brought that team up from nothing. I was up at Penn State for my visit when they played USF, and I always wondered who that coach (of theirs) was. You’d see him on the sideline and he’s so enthusiastic during the game, and that’s the type of coach you want to play for.

I pulled the quote from this article. It’s a great read!

A lot of coaches are animated, but they aren’t necessarily loved. The more you learn about Leavitt, the more you feel how loved he is by his players. When I talked to one of his former defensive backs at USF, his words sounded similar to Bowman’s.

“We loved him, and we knew he loved us. If we needed him at 1 am in the morning, we knew he’d be there for us. He was the kind of guy that you’d go to battle for because you knew he’d battle for you,”

His former player continued, “he was the first coach I had that would get out there and run gassers with us…he was a good teacher and he showed us (in order) to teach us.”

The former player hit on two things I believe are most important in a coach. A coach should be a great teacher and should be someone you want to play for.

I even asked the former player about his recruiting experience with Leavitt and what kind of recruiter he was and, again, I got more of the same praise, “he’s a guy you want to play for…when you meet him…when you meet him you’d just feel like you want to go to war for this guy, and he’d make you feel like he’d go to war for you…and he would.”

Everyone I spoke to in Tampa, high school coaches and trainers, sung Leavitt’s praises. “Everyone loved him down here…the fans, the coaches, the players…he was loved down here,” one long time high school coach in Tampa told me.

Defensive Style

Coach Leavitt come’s from a 4-3 background, but having coached in San Francisco under Harbaugh, he’s also well versed in the 3-4. I suspect OU would like to be multiple in their fronts when possible, but regardless what they choose to do this coming season, in my opinion, Leavitt can teach it.

His former player I spoke with gave me a few notes about the defensive style he played in under Leavitt at South Florida, “We were aggressive, we flew around, and we had a lot of fun.” In talking about his position group (defensive back) he said, “we did one-on-one’s every practice…it was a battle everyday…we played guys head up…we were always competing and that’s the attitude he built…we were always battling and he used the word ‘battle’ a hundred times a day in practice.” I asked him about their coverages, and he said they were about 50-50 man/zone and primarily played out of a two high safety shell.

As a head coach it’s clear that coach Leavitt took pride in his defense. South Florida consistently had a Top 25 defense in the country. While he was at South Florida (for the sake of time I just pulled South Florida’s total defensive rankings for his final few years): 2005 ranked 17th, 2006 ranked 25th, 2007 ranked 28th, 2008 ranked 10th & 2009 ranked 24th.

The Connection

As I noted above, coach Leavitt was the co-defensive coordinator with Stoops at Kansas State. But Leavitt has another interesting connection to the Sooners. OU legend Lee Roy Selmon (God rest his soul) was the athletic director at the University of South Florida when coach Leavitt was there, until 2004 when Selmon resigned.

Where Is He Now?

As most of you know, Jim Harbaugh left the 49ers this year to take the head coaching job at Michigan. So Jim Leavitt is currently available. I asked some folks in the Tampa area, and I’m told that Leavitt still very much wants to coach but it sounds like he’s looking for the right opportunity. I was told he was offered a position at Washington State (not sure if it was as a DC or position coach) but turned it down.

Wrapping Up

Having an energetic guru like Leavitt, who has done nothing but succeed all his life, is something I feel like this OU defense could benefit greatly from. Over the past month, I’ve become more and more convinced that Leavitt is the man that could come in and instantly help to get the defense moving in the right direction. Oklahoma has talent. They also have a great young coach and recruiter in Jerry Montgomery, who is building depth at the most difficult position to develop, the defensive line.

If OU were to pair Leavitt with one or two additional young, great teachers and recruiters, they’d have a great mix of youth and experience with a defensive staff chock-full of coaches that players would love to play for.

After 2014 this is clearly a defense that needs to get better, but why settle for “better” when someone like Leavitt could potentially come in and make this defense the best?

113 Comments

  • Soonerfandave84 says:

    Yes, yes, and yes. Make this happen!!!!

  • Tim Wilson says:

    Dear 8 pound 6 ounce baby Jesus….

  • Lincoln Hawk says:

    Is this really plausible? Do you think there will be an opening after signing day?

    • Herman Bubbert says:

      This is my question as well. I am absolutely on board with Leavitt – far more than I am with trying to recreate 1999 by going back to the Chuck and Duck – but I am unconvinced at this point we’re going to see any defensive movement after signing day.

      • D Hunter Sanchez says:

        Chuck and Duck and beating teams running the ball…

        • Herman Bubbert says:

          Mike Leach and Hal Mumme – cited by Stoops on Saturday – have never beaten anyone running the ball. I am going to have to see that Riley will commit to the ground game before I see his hire as anything but a potentially toxic mix with the defensive mess we have.

          • BloodRed says:

            WOW Herman, some tough critiques.? Yet I don’t see 2-3 of the henchman who attack my post on here daily when I have basically said some of the same things….Maybe their is something else in play here…

          • Herman Bubbert says:

            I’m not getting into that. I just don’t deal in the kind of wishful thinking that analogizes Riley’s offense to Ohio State and Oregon, when there isn’t a shred of empirical evidence to back it up. Riley is going to have to convince me he will run the ball, especially with a defense that cannot afford to spend a single second more on the field next year than it did during this one. I haven’t forgotten the 40-second three-and-outs that drove us from the Chuck and Duck in the first place.

          • brainpimp says:

            That is just incorrect. Don’t know what else to say. Their systems and derivatives of their systems are all over college and pro scene right now.

            hate to break it to you but Oregon and OSU both ran similar systems and neither were the power I.

          • Herman Bubbert says:

            It is a massive, massive reach unsupported by a second of game tape anywhere to compare the Leach/Mumme offense – as cited as his goal by Bob Stoops – to the Ohio State offense. That is little more than wishful thinking.

          • Tim Wilson says:

            I agree that the offenses are not similar. I don’t get why fans keep saying Lincoln Riley had to “prove” anything to them. He is already hired. Might as well get behind him.

    • Super K says:

      I do. I’ll be shocked if there isn’t at least one opening.

  • Jeremy Phillips says:

    I’m not saying i wouldn’t take him because of his USF incident.. I’m saying boren won’t let Bob take him…

    • Soonerfandave84 says:

      Normally I’d agree, but with Boren needing booster money for the stadium now might be the time to push the issue

  • MoJoOkie says:

    I’d take him. Echoing Jeremy Phillips, I’m not sure the admin would let it be.

  • Chris Vincent says:

    I have long since wanted to see this defensive staff in the fall:

    Co-Defensive Cooridnator/Secondary Coach/Signal Caller: Clancy Pendergast
    Co-Defensive Cooridnator/Defensive Line Coach: Montgomery
    Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach: Jim Leavitt
    Assistant Secondary Coach: Terrell Buckley

    Kish is gone & if Mike is not, then move him to another position,(I.e. Defensive Quality Control, etc).

  • Paul Warfield says:

    Ahh…good old Clancy Pendergast. Bob should just can Mike and go hire him as DC. You all should research his attacking one gap 52 defense. It’s just what the doctor ordered.

    But if Mike stays put….they have to hire Leavitt to coach linebackers.

    • BloodRed says:

      Paul if he was on Carroll staff at Usc. I’m sure sooner fans all have memories of him….

    • D Hunter Sanchez says:

      At USC in 2013, he took a unit that ran a 4-3 and changed it to a 5-2 with some 3-4 principles, and despite having almost no depth, the Trojans put a fierce D on the field. They won 10 games despite having all sorts of off-field drama with three different head coaches. http://trojanfootballstatistics.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/clancy-pendergast-the-5-2-defensive-front/

      • BloodRed says:

        Hunter did you just say 5-2???Tell me you just said that? Our famed 5-2 “OKAHOMA” defense created by the Wizard from Minnesota Ole’ Bud…I’m just getting all excited now..Time to find a lady and loosen up!LOL

        • D Hunter Sanchez says:

          Some form of it there is a link outlining his D. I remember in high school in Hollywood CA, our coach said we play the Okie 52 here. I was elated because I was a Sooner fan and knew the basic structure.

        • D Hunter Sanchez says:

          Leavitt or Clancy will be just fine.

      • Paul Warfield says:

        Yep..Yep. His 52 is really just his version of the 3-4 with a few tweaks. Three true defensive linemen and four linebackers all occupying one gap and attacking. I would love to see Clancy back in Norman….but it’s doubtful.

    • Christopher Vincent says:

      Agreed. If we can get him along with Jim Leavitt as linebackers coach, Monty & Buckley as DB coach would be massive upgrades across the defensive staff. It would shore up the fundamentals issue with the players, along with being schematically better than the current ones,(it is reported Clancy is a 24/7 grinder on watching tape, etc).

  • AmaGoh7 says:

    I hope this discussion means it’s new LB coach time. At what point does a person, after they’ve repented and not had a repeat incident, is treated as if they have a clean slate ? Guess it depends on the mindset of the employer. Glad I’ve had those in my life who gave me another shot.

  • D Hunter Sanchez says:

    I’m sold.

  • boomersooner says:

    Thanks k. Makes me wanna be a fan of his wherever he goes and really hope he comes here

  • Daryl says:

    I would love this even if Viney was on the staff. Viney and Monty bring the youth and Mike, Bob, and Jim bring the wisdom and successful track record.

    • Chris Vincent says:

      Agreed. Combine him with Leavitt, Monty & one of Buckley/Viney & it would be a great overhaul on the defensive side. Also, it would be a great mixture of NFL & College experience that would turn recruits heads.

    • BloodRed says:

      I don’t know enough about Viney but I believe having the skills to teach are more important of whom you recruit. Plus now that USC is on the upswing were not going to get any top 10 db’s from Cali, we need to stop going after cali guys that were passed over by the top West Coast programs. U want to have great DB play? You have to go toe to toe & Blow for Blow with USC and start winning a battle here & there, have success with them on the field and it will carry over to recruiting other cali guys. Hire Tosh Lopoiu as recruiting Coordinator assistant co-def. line coach then I bet we start having a chance with top USC targets!

      • Stephen Dale says:

        Tosh Lupoi isn’t leaving Alabama for any job at OU.. He waited a year in purgatory just to get on the bama staff…..

      • Daryl says:

        Where did USC come into the conversation? I am confused. Sorry I just don’t understand what you are saying.

        • BloodRed says:

          Daryl I just don’t feel Viney ability to interact with young players is good enough to be named our DB coach. His guys if he has recruited cali guys for our secondary have not panned out as of yet. If he’s hired fine…But he should expect to show better results. Sorry I have the Lombardi mentality….May not be able to get rid of the player but a coach can be replaced….

          • brainpimp says:

            Not eveyone is is love with USC. We can get Cali players ANY year.

          • BloodRed says:

            Never said every player. Hell I’m sure Sc would like to send some on schollie packing right now. I just don’t want anyone not being recruited by them if they are in Cali. From time to time everyone finds a”Diamond in the rough” more times than not you’ll just find it rough…

          • Daryl says:

            I don’t disagree with you there about who can and can’t be replaced, but if you go with that logic then you would have to fire Bob and Mike who both are very involved in coaching DB’s. Honestly they are more involved with coaching than Viney is, but it has seemed that Viney has been more involved in closing the recruiting deals than Bob or Mike. Not saying I know that for sure just saying you hear Viney’s name brought up a lot in recruiting and we all know that Mike and Bob are DB coaches.
            i do agree that we shouldn’t take the leftovers from Cali, unless we truly believe they are Tony Jefferson 2.0

      • Brent says:

        SC is not the California school we should worry about. UCLA and Stanford are at a much higher level.

        • BloodRed says:

          Right now they are but the top 2 Db and top safety are headed to SC. And they are off probation & just came off a bowl win so they have alot of momentum plus and this the “elephant in the classroom” They are SC…

          • Brent says:

            As long as Sarkisian is on the sidelines you don’t need to worry about SC

          • BloodRed says:

            LOL dude they just got one of the top LB’s in the country from Utah Monty’s area of expertise(Samoan players) we wanted him and we could not even get a visit, because we have a disjointed azz recruiting system in place at the moment…Sark continues to get the players while you talk shet and our Sooners continue to lose…Can I get some of that meth Ur using so I can say the same things…?

  • D Hunter Sanchez says:

    The thing that I’m afraid of is that we score a bunch of points and lose 2-3 games because of the Defense and then, MS is asked to leave. It’ll be a year wasted, and we’ll be doing this all over again only on the D side of the ball. Let’s just replace now.

    • Soonerfandave84 says:

      OU lost 3 games scoring 30+ last season…granted TK9 threw a pick 6 in 2 of them and BS decided to re-punt for some reason in the other

      • D Hunter Sanchez says:

        Yeah I know watched every freakin play of every loss. I like punishment I guess. Well, this is the point. I wonder if the LB coach and/or MS will be replaced? I mean we don’t have a WR OR DB coach right?

      • BloodRed says:

        Regarding TK9, I feel he does not display a true winners mentality. I only want “winners” who live it, act it, and breathe it here. It’s like a germ(in a good and best sense) and it becomes contagious! Look what Meyer did with his 3 qb’s ..All go about their way as winners….

        • Soonerfandave84 says:

          I think its leadership as much as anything. He makes a bad play gets down on himself and the team follows.

  • Eric Hoffpauir says:

    Yes, please.

  • BloodRed says:

    SuperK,If we get leavitt I may start to fall in love again….Also, Why no heart shaped emoticons on this site?

  • BloodRed says:

    To me no offense to BoB and the rest of the staff But You put Bob at South Florida, I don’t think he has the same success! You put Leavitt here in 1999 I think he would have.

  • BloodRed says:

    If The Selmons say he’s hired here I’ll be the first to the tell Boren I could give a rats—-What he thinks. Hire the man!

  • Sooner Magic says:

    I really hope they make this hire. Kish is a good guy but stinks as a coach and recruiter. He is basically dead weight on this staff, that the other coaches have to try and carry. LB’s are essential to the defense, and that’s where we have really struggled ever since Lofton left. Thank you Monty or we would have 0 LB’s right now.

    • BloodRed says:

      Magic, by all means tell us what u really think…?LOL I won’t go that far but I say he just been just above average he is good enough at the Baylors, ksu, etc But not at MY Oklahoma…

  • SamSooner says:

    Jordan, is there any smoke around Stoops hiring Leavitt?

    • SamSooner says:

      Sorry K, that question was for you. Is there serious talk around OU hiring Leavitt?

      • CcrBoomer says:

        I hope the do go after Leavitt! If he comes to OU i will buy 20 BOOM shirts and become a Bob Stoops supporter once again.

    • Super K says:

      I haven’t heard anything…just me hoping it’s where coach Stoops turns if changes are made after signing day

      • SamSooner says:

        Thanks, K. If Bob gets this right, OU could dominate for a while.

      • Daryl says:

        So are you saying there are going to be changes after signing day? To follow up to that question are you saying that there will be changes at LB coaching after signing day?

  • dallassooner says:

    Trying to talk me into hiring Jim Leavitt is like talking me into going on a date with Megan McGeary (former OU twirler). GET IT DONE.

  • SoonerfanTU says:

    I don’t understand the love for Pendergast.

    His D’s were bad in the 3 years he was DC at Cal, and the year he was at USC they were better, but he still had a couple of stinkers. I just don’t see anything that says he would definitely be better than what we currently have.

    Hope we go another direction. I’d rather bring in a younger guy, and let him do his own thing.

  • Birddawg says:

    Ace hire.
    But wouldn’t Leavitt expect to be the play caller?
    Mike would be have to be gone right?
    He’s not moving to a quality control anything

  • Katyboomer says:

    K- you heard anything like this is even a possibility? You would think if he was the Guy he would already be here. No reason to wait and get him here. Would even help close on some guys I would think

  • JJSoona says:

    “K” I’m not sure I’ve heard you gush like this before, so there must be something to consider. A coach who can coach, criticize and teach and his players love him? That’s tough to beat. If a player doesn’t respect a coach, for whatever reason, you, as a coach, have NO chance.

    If this gentleman was good enough for Leroy Selmon, he’s good enough for this team.

  • OklaSooner says:

    And Lee Roy’s bar was set at the vintage OU height !

  • Dallas Johnson says:

    Would be a great hire no Doubt…. but not getting my hopes up.

  • GreginDestin says:

    Sure, Leavitt would be wonderful and Pendergast probably as well…it is not going to happen. Bob is not going to override Mike, much less can him like he deserves, and Mike is the guarantor of Kish’s continuing tenure. Let’s all get over it because it is not going to change. Whether any of us want to admit it, we got a problem unless the offense averages 45+ a game, including against quality opponents, Siebert can hit FGs from anywhere inside 60 from any hash, the punter averages 55 and has a hang time of 4.0+ every time, and KO person puts the ball 7-8 yards deep into the end zone. Perhaps all of that will provide Mikey and Timmy an opportunity to appear to have a respectable defense.

  • Stephen Dale says:

    if this guy has any ‘fire ‘ in the belly left for recruiting a well as coaching and if he wants to work with the Sooner staff—bring him in… that said, he is somewhat older than I would ideally like in a coach. OU has an old man coaching LBs now ; need somebody who can identify, recruit incessantly, close on talent, and COACH the position..if its Leavitt, fine……….no preferences.

  • Billy M says:

    Was he offered to tag along at Michigan?

  • SoonerFan11 says:

    This is assuming he gets the dc gig right? Or would being the lb’s coach with associate head coach be enough?

  • roygbell says:

    Great write up on Leavitt. I think Jim would be a home run hit for Bob and OU. He has proven his ability to coach. I don’t see what happened to him at USF as something to keep OU from hiring him. To my knowledge it was one player and one incident. Any time you interact with the hundreds of kids like Jim Leavitt you are bound to run into one who will turn on you.

    Outside of that single incident I don’t see one problem with Jim Leavitt. I think he would be a great addition as the LBer coach or wherever Bob wants to put him. If Kish goes I think LBer is his deal,

  • bmrsnr says:

    Is this even possible?

  • Bob Edwards says:

    Sounds like a great hire. I guess the question I have is would he be willing to work under a Co-DC that is young enough to be his son?

  • Jeff says:

    Would be a good hire for DB’s but Bob isn’t going to have him take over for MS anytime soon

  • EasTex says:

    Good piece, SK.
    I am just going to be patient and see where this goes, probably another two weeks.

  • SoonerinLondon says:

    Sounds like a good match, but it seems to me that he would have been offered/accepted by now if he was one of Bob’s top choices.

  • Scott Hamilton says:

    Stop teasing……he aint coming

  • soonerbred4ever says:

    I thought Leavitt was quoted as saying, he would only go back to the college ranks as a head coach.

  • bjwalker82 says:

    You don’t have to make the case to me TFB. I would be thrilled.

  • leatherneck1061 says:

    Great write up, and Leavitt sounds like a potentially great hire.

    On the other hand it seems like pointless self-inflicted torture to spend any time thinking how great a hire it would be when it’s plain as day Bob is never going to show Mike the door, and a guy who’s “waiting for the right opportunity” is probably not thinking that opportunity has a “co” at the front of the title.

    Or are we thinking he’s going to be content just being a position coach?

  • AmaGoh7 says:

    Is it just me or does it look like OUr D needs to be taught how to tackle ? How ’bout Seattle Seahawks style tackling ? Works for them and it does for me too. (:

  • Bryan Burch says:

    Oh yeah!

  • Bryan Burch says:

    MOAR Leavitt, please sir.

  • SCKSChief says:

    No case needed. If Leavitt would take the job, hire him NOW!

  • Jonathan Taylor says:

    Would be a great get, but I doubt MS is gone. I got more hope that Kish will be out after NSD, but again I think that depends if he can bring in a LB or two for this class. I have my doubts that OU would have three co-DCs and let’s face it, MS won’t relinquish the defense to anyone. Hell it’s still shocking that he didn’t leave as soon as Monty was named co-DC. MS defenses have usually been better when he’s had a co-DC, but two would be too much so either MS is gone (along with Kish) and they hire Leavitt (or someone else), or they keep MS and get rid of Kish and find a solid recruiting, and developing LB coach.

  • CrimsonGhost says:

    The bottom line is that if Coach Mike is going to stay and the defense is going to improve he needs help. Serious scheming and adjustment help. Maybe Monty gives that help this year, maybe not. Some experienced coach that has fire (like Leavitt) that is not afraid to voice an opinion would go along way toward giving Mike help and improving the D.

    At times this year Mike’s actions reminded me of Abraham Lincoln’s description of Union Gen. Rosecrans demeanor after getting whipped at Chickamauga. Lincoln claimed that Rosecrans seemed “confused and stunned, like a duck hit on the head.” Too many times this past season Mike seemed lost in the “fog of war” during games.

    • Jonathan Taylor says:

      Good use of historical events and spot on about MSs confusion. The D may be in need of an overhaul which isn’t good when you’ve already done it in the past couple years. I’m wondering if he understands the 3-4 enough or if he’s just slinging crap to see what sticks.

  • Sooner Ray says:

    I like the guy and think he would be a huge boost to the defense but if Mike’s here, don’t see him coming.

  • Jackson1006 says:

    Great post K. He is more than qualified for sure. From my days at OU and the med school, I was in quite a few activities with Pres. Boren over a span of 8 years. I am not saying I know him well or anything but what I can say from my experience is that he is not one for taking risks regarding controversy (we could speculate that this comes from his political career but whatever). He is astute and has a nose for branding and image and has been the best president OU has ever had imho. Stoops is a good man I think and I would like to believe he is a man of second chances for all, but if the admin has a say and there is another coach qualified sans controversy Leavitt won’t be here.

  • AlvinMack55 says:

    If Leavitt has as good of relationship with Stoops that we think he does, then I think he would just maybe take the LB coaching position if/hopefully when Kish gets fired. It seems apparent that Mike is likely staying so I’d be happy with a defensive staff of:
    Co-DC/S – Stoops
    Co-DC/DL – Montgomery
    LB – Leavitt
    DB – Viney?

    It gives you a little bit of everything if that was the group to be assembled next fall.

  • Scott Moore says:

    I wonder why he didn’t go to Michigan? Was he not asked? Maybe he’s not fond of the weather after being in Florida and Cali? Would like to know. Sounds like a great fit though.

  • Mysterio1 says:

    I would love to see Jim Leavitt in Norman.

  • lookingaround says:

    i lived in tampa for ten years and watched usf grow under Leavitt. guy can coach. i have often told my friends that OU would be much better off if they could get Leavitt in to coach up the linebackers. looks like great minds think alike. 😉

  • Hollerback says:

    Would be an excellent hire. Grand Slam type hire.

  • Pete Johnsen says:

    Nearly zero chance. He’s had recent D1 HC offers in the 7 figures that he’s passed on bc he and his wife won’t live in a college town.

  • Will says:

    Thank you for listing all of the awesome reasons why he is going to be an awesome DC at Colorado!